Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/162

88 obliged to shoot them when wanted for our tables; one of mine managed to evade our most active sportsmen, and was left there when we took our departure. I regretted I had not brought with me some useful animals from the Cape of Good Hope, to have stocked the land.

Of marine animals, the sea elephant and several species of seals were formerly in great abundance, and annually drew a number of vessels to these shores in pursuit of them. They have now, after so many years of persecution, quite deserted the place, or have been most completely annihilated. One very fine specimen of the sea elephant was shot at Christmas Harbour during our stay, as also were a few seals. These are described in the "Zoology of the Voyage," now in progress of publication, by Dr. Richardson and I. E. Gray, Esq., of the British Museum, with the assistance of 1000l., granted by the Government, at the recommendation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for the necessary illustrations and dawings [sic] of the unknown animals that were- collected during the voyage.

Some whales were seen at the entrance of the harbour, and by the parties employed in surveying the coast. These creatures appear still to be found in great numbers, so that in 1843, when we returned to the Cape of Good Hope, we heard that there were between five and six hundred whale ships fishing along the shores or in the immediate neighbourhood of this land; that most of them